


On Darkest Minds

by Destiny_in_the_Stars



Series: Far Beyond the Skies [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Aftermath of Pandorica, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Crying, Eleventh Doctor Era, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, Episode: s05e12 The Pandorica Opens, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, What Was I Thinking?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 05:43:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14635284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destiny_in_the_Stars/pseuds/Destiny_in_the_Stars
Summary: Eleven deals with the aftermath of Pandorica and along comes a song to help him along the wayThis is a set of Doctor Who fics you didn't ask for, but here they are anyway





	On Darkest Minds

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for what you are about to witness... 
> 
> ENJOY!

The Eleventh Doctor tossed and turned as he fell into a fitful sleep, a soft groan escaping his lips. He fought against the covers of the bed, only resulting in entangling himself. The traveler let out a pained sound, hazel eyes squeezed tightly shut. His tweed jacket, the bed, everything, felt constricting. He couldn't breathe, like he was trapped in a dark room with no way out. 

"N-No, please!"

He thrashed wildly in a desperate attempt to get free, recalling being strapped down inside the Pandorica. Panic seized at him as he remembered yelling himself hoarse in a furious need to reason with his captors to no avail. 

"NO!" He howled out. 

Tears were spilling freely down his face, gasping with a shaky breath, as he trembled visibly. His short brown hair was a mess, wild and matted, sweat glistening his forehead, his hearts hammering against his chest. 

It wasn't real. Pandorica was long since over, but he couldn't- 

 _it was too cold._ _toocoold, toocold._

He almost didn't hear a familiar voice calling out to him. 

"Hello, sw- Doctor?" 

A pathetic whimper escaped him, eyes clouding over. All he saw was that blasted box, bound and helpless, without any real concept of time, rendering him into such a frail state. No, no, he wasn't there. 

He was fine. He kept quiet because he was fine. Always would be. 

_The king of okay._

The curly-haired blond with grayish-blue eyes cautiously made her way over so as not to startle the clearly stricken Time Lord. River made an attempt to calm him down, hoping to pull him out of whatever he'd seen. 

"Doctor, breathe. You're safe now," she told him. Her voice was surprisingly soft, considering that the Doctor was still shaking. 

A mix of a hiccup and a sob tore from the Doctor's throat, glancing up at River with puffy red eyes. He gasped in sudden pain as he started to hyperventilate, fresh tear tracks streaming down his face. 

_he couldn't move. breatheslowdown. toootight, tootight, tootight._

"Sweetie, breathe. You're safe now. You're okay," River soothed. After a great deal of effort and patience, she managed to calm down the Time Lord, even if just a little. 

"Ar-Are- I'm sorry," he ducked his head, looking away from her. The Doctor sniffed, wiping at his eyes. He stood up yet ended stumbling on his feet, only to be caught by River Song who gripped him by the arms before he could end up on the floor. Slowly, he let himself be guided towards the bed. 

He attempted taking off his red bow tie, which for some reason felt too tight, though his hands were still shaking badly. He turned red with embarrassment when River aided him and eventually released it from his neck. 

"Look at me. I'm fine. S-See? I-I'm fine!" He forced out, giving River a weak grin. 

River frowned at the clear expression on the Doctor's face. It was fear. It pained her to see him like this, so fragile and helpless. Something was affecting him and she didn't know what to do if he refused to talk. 

"Sweetie, what happened?" 

There was no response. Why would there be? 

The Doctor was traumatized and he would need a bit of help to recover. He didn't speak, wouldn't. The last thing he wanted was to scare River away or receive pity from her. He pulled off his jacket, since he felt rather hot with it on at the moment. He hadn't meant to have a panic attack in front of his future wife, not that he'd let it happen again. 

"It's over, Doctor. Tell me what happened." 

He didn't feel like telling her, but knowing River... she would only keep asking him until he did. With a slight shaky nod and a sigh he began the tale. 

"I-I... it's Pan- Pandorica..." 

Realization hit her like a ton of bricks. River caught the Doctor's gaze and noticed just how blank his eyes seemed, like he was on the verge of giving up. The Time Lord had been trapped for who-knows-how-long inside the Pandorica, at the mercy of everything that had ever hated him. 

"Oh, sweetie. It's okay. It's over." 

"I just- I couldn't do anything while..." 

"Doctor, you are strong... trust me on that. Just get some sleep. You will feel better later." 

"...thank you," the Doctor finally spoke, flashing the curly-haired female a watery smile as he slowly curled up like a cat on the bed, faintly aware of River's hand moving up to his hair and gently stroking it to calm him down. 

That night, for the first time in a while, he had no nightmares. 

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry that this too short, but I'm pretty content with how it turned out. 
> 
> I am quite happy with making requests. Currently, I'm in the middle of Part 2, which was suggested by a close friend of mine. 
> 
> Comments are always welcome!


End file.
